This invention relates to outdoor, above ground electrical closures known as pedestals, and more particularly to a pedestal which is designed to prevent the bothersome problem of insect and rodent access to the interior chamber defined by the pedestal.
It is well known that it is necessary that underground cables have above ground extensions in order to provide access to the underground cable for repair, maintenance and the like. Requirements for a satisfactory pedestal are that it be serviceable from an electrical maintenance standpoint so that splices and connections to the cable may be made efficiently and reliably; the pedestal must be of a mechanical design such that access to the interior chamber defined by the pedestal is facilitated; the pedestal must be of a construction such that it will withstand possible rough treatment in its installation; and, of course, the pedestal must provide for easy installation and convenient cable access.
Because the cables which are fed into the interior chamber of the pedestal stand are of varying sizes, most pedestals now sold do not have a pedestal bottom cover. The reason for this is simply that there is no standard access opening size for the cables to be fed into the interior pedestal chamber. Thus, for example if the access opening were quite large and the cable small, the opening would be very large allowing easy access by insects, rodents and the like. On the other hand, if the cable is very large and the access opening small, the bottom of the pedestal stand would have to be reamed out in order to increase the opening size to permit access. It is for this reason that pedestal stands do not have a bottom cover and the pedestal chamber is simply extended down into the ground, with the ground providing the bottom.
One particularly bothersome problem with pedestal stands is that the interior chamber of the pedestal stand provides a warmer desirable place for insects and rodents. Thus, rats, mice and other small burrowing rodents often will chew the insulating material away from the cable wires and dig a hole around the wires and burrow up into the pedestal chamber where they nest. This of course presents an undesirable environment for maintenance people who open the pedestal stands.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a pedestal stand which retards insect and rodent access thereto.
Another object of this invention is to provide such a pedestal stand, and a system therefor, which can be used with pedestals presently sold on the marketplace without modification.
Another object of this invention is to provide a method of retarding rodent and insect access to the interior chamber of a pedestal stand.
A still further object of this invention is to provide a rigid, foamed, cell-developed, polymeric material for use at the bottom of a pedestal stand chamber, with the cells containing in a gaseous state an insect and rodent retardant which is releasable upon rupture of the cells.
A still further object of this invention is to provide a method of encapsulating a normally liquid rodent retardant in the rigid cells of a foamed thermosetting, insulative material.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a kit of all liquid ingredients for forming a rigid, foamed, cell-developed, polymeric, plastic material containing encapsulated gaseous rodent retardant in the cells of the plastic material, the kit being small and usable directly at the pedestal site by pouring reaction ingredients together and pouring the mixed reaction ingredients into the bottom of a pedestal chamber.
The method and means of accomplishing these and other objects will become apparent from the detailed description of the invention which follows below.